


Dreaming in Space

by Thecsquirrel



Category: Captain Marvel (2019)
Genre: F/F, Kind of a character study, Meant to be a drabble, Space Wives, angst if you squint, danbeau, introspective Maria, just some fluff, post snap, really this is me just rambling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:41:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21909862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thecsquirrel/pseuds/Thecsquirrel
Summary: Just a moment in the lives of Maria and Carol post-Snap and post-Returned.  A moment in that possible future.
Relationships: Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau
Comments: 12
Kudos: 60





	Dreaming in Space

**Author's Note:**

> _Long time, no write! I miss writing for these two and I had a whisper of a thought. Not really a story, just a moment. Not sure if we'll ever see Maria Rambeau on screen again, but I'm not ready to let her go._
> 
> _As always, mistakes are all mine. This was just a quick exercise._

Maria wakes with a start, sucking in a deep breath before catching herself from rolling off the edge of the mattress. With muscles still sore and strained from use, she eases onto her back and takes a steadying breath before turning her head to the left and slowly opening her eyes. Her smile is nearly involuntary as she can just make out a tuft of blonde hair jutting out from underneath the sheet. 

She feels her heartbeat slow to what is becoming her new normal, which is well below what she had been accustomed to for nearly 60 years, but like all things in the past few years, she is learning to adjust. Maria swings long toned legs out from under the cool thin blanket as she moves to sit up. Luckily the images that had awoken her fade away easily and blur into the dark hum of the ship, leaving her with only a brief moment of anxiety. She moves long lithe limbs through a set series of stretches accompanied by a practiced pattern of breathing to get her heart rate back to normal. 

It's been seven years post-Snap. Two years post-the Returned; she and Monica among those who had dissolved into the ether. Lost. Gone. And then, just like that: returned.

The lacquered floor is warm against the soles of her feet when she finally sits up. For a moment she perches on the edge of the bed, arms straight, and hands gripping the mattress. A slight wave of nausea ripples up her torso and she rolls her neck from side to side once the feeling subsides. She senses the hand at her back before it actually touches her skin and she welcomes the familiar press of fingertips against her spine.

Strong fingers splay against the small of her back, smoothing their way underneath the light cotton camisole she wears. Small tight circles are massaged into the base of her spine and Maria hums her approval.

"You okay?" Carol's sleepy voice rasps out from behind her. 

Maria's eyes adjust to the muted orange light of the running lights along the baseboards of the walls of the room. "I'm okay, baby. Go back to sleep." Sleep clings to her voice and she clears her throat.

Carol winds her hand around to the defined planes of Maria's abs and pulls herself closer. She presses her lips to the exposed skin of Maria's hips. Maria shivers in response to the intimacy and places her right hand over the hand at her stomach. "You promise?" Carol asks.

Maria grins and pats Carol's hand. "Promise. Just woke myself up." Her tone is confident and her words are meant to assure the other woman. 

She feels Carol nod against her back, and her exhaustion is evident in the simple action. A three-day mission on a Class D-planet had kept them both busy, with Maria flying point and Carol's Captain Marvel dealing with the heavy hauling and artillery. Now that Thanos and his troops were gone, peace was foremost on the minds of most beings, save an ambitious few.

Returning from the successful mission, the two women had dragged themselves to their quarters a few hours before, closed all the shutters, locked the doors and promptly cocooned themselves for some much-needed rest. Had it not been for a stray nightmare, Maria would have still been asleep, safe in the warmth of Carol's body heat and presence. 

Maria pats Carol's hand once more before she eases it away, so she can stand. "Just going to run to the bathroom."

Carol doesn't even open her eyes as she rolls onto her stomach and stretches out across the bed. "Love you, babe," she half mumbles into the dark.

Maria looks back and just grins. "Love you, too."

"Don't be long. Cold." She presses her face into the pillow.

Maria fiddles with her scarf, rewrapping the ends and tucking the material tight. She chuckles at Carol's words while she pads her way across the dimly lit room to the right wall. With a wave of her hand, the panel opens and she steps into the bathroom. She closes the door to keep the light from seeping into their room. 

The dark circles under her eyes have faded a bit thanks to the rest of the past few hours. She runs a cloth under the water spout and then slowly drags the cool cloth across her forehead and down her cheeks. With vibrant brown eyes, she stares at her reflection in the mirror and shakes her head in wonder. Good genes and a steady skin care routine has always kept most people far from guessing how old she actually is even before the Snap, but now, even she couldn't fathom how anyone would believe that the unblemished deep brown of her skin could possibly belong to a woman closer to 60 than 30.

In the 30 or so years since Carol's return, the former Airforce pilot has seen all manner of aliens and science-fiction become science fact, but there are still some things that take her breath away. For one, watching their daughter manipulate energy still leaves her as breathless as it does proud, and Carol's beaming smile still puts a thousand sunsets to shame. She stares at her reflection in the mirror, runs her fingertips across thick brows, and then along the fading puffiness under her eyes. She squares her shoulders, taking stock of her body. Firm, toned, and muscled in places she hasn't used since the Air Force Academy. She can't help but smirk at her ridiculous fortune. 

A decade earlier, she was just beginning to come to terms with the inevitably that Carol and Monica were going to have to survive without her for at least another lifetime, if not more. She was mulling over retirement plans and making bucket lists for how many countries she wanted to visit. And now here she stands in front of a mirror inside her quarters on a spaceship zipping through the expanse of one galaxy after another, and she knows the possibilities are endless. Her blood is not quite blue (at least not yet, not completely), but the pills twice a day and the infusion once a week have set her on a path to the possible.

The tracker-watch on her wrist buzzes with a reminder and the moment of introspection is gone. Speaking of pills -- she is filling her glass with water when the door slides open. Maria's smile grows wide upon the sight of Carol's disheveled image in the mirror.

Cropped blonde hair is in disarray and she squints her eyes against the soft white light of the bathroom. She is yawning and scratching at her bare side, tank top lost somewhere in the bedsheets, no doubt, as she leans against the doorway.

"Whatcha' doing?" Her voice is gruff from use. 

Maria swallows three pills and gulps down water before handing the half-full glass to Carol. "Guess we slept longer than I realized."

A beat passes before Carol hands back the empty glass and then holds out her hand. "Then that means we should probably go back to bed since we've clearly missed the start of the day." She wiggles her eyebrows.

Maria rolls her eyes playfully at the other woman, and then she puts the empty glass on the sink and takes Carol's hand. She spins the other woman around as they step back into the bedroom, pulling her against her body. Carol doesn't say it, but she loves Maria's slight height advantage as it allows the taller woman to wrap her arms around her and tuck her in close. When her own nightmares were at their worst, it was only the comfort being enveloped in Maria's warmth and strength that gave her comfort and made her feel human.

They amble back towards the bed together while Maria presses her lips to the back of Carol's neck. The butterfly kisses make Carol laugh, and then the tickle turns to a pleasant tremble. They tumble into the bed together, a mass of limbs and tangled sheets. Light laughter gives way to feather-lite kisses and nuzzling. There are breathy sighs and content moans, while hands roam across smooth skin and soft curves. They are both too exhausted to do anything more than revel in the feel of one another, and for the moment it is more than enough--certainly more than Maria had ever dared to dream possible after an amnesiac version of the love of her life had appeared in her backyard all those years ago. 

The women pass "I love yous" in whispers to one another in the quiet dark of the room, with only the ambient hum of the atmosphere control to mute the sounds of their kisses. Eventually, Maria guides Carol onto her side, so she can mold herself to the smaller woman's back. She too has discarded her top, preferring Carol's ever-present body heat to anything a thin shirt could provide. The contact is a balm to them both and they sigh in sync before it gives way to sleepy giggles.

Maria kisses Carol's shoulder and Carol threads the fingers of their hands together and pulls them tight to her chest. Carol's next words sound garbled, but Maria knows enough Kree by now to understand the other woman's sleepy promises and goofy declarations.

Maria lets out a huff of a laugh through a yawn and pulls the sheet over them both before she answers back. "Sure thing, Danvers. You're on." 

_Fade out..._

**Author's Note:**

> _Thanks so much for reading!_


End file.
